1. Field of the Invention
A shower equipped bathtub converted to a feminine recto-genital cleansing apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It long has been recognized that the recto-genital area is benefited by frequent cleansings to minimize irritation and infection, eliminate odors and remove residues from bodily excretions. For anatomical and hygienic reasons, women in particular exert special efforts to maintain this area clean. Attempts to clean the area with topically applied sheets of soft material are futile. An alternative approach, namely laving said area in shallow bowls, e.g. sitz baths, has been practiced for centuries. More recently, bidets have been employed, these constituting bowls with nozzles in their bases to direct sprays of water at the recto-genital area.
Two patented types of conversion equipment have been suggested to incorporate rectal baths in a bathtub: these are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,040,335 and 3,082,432.
In the first of these the shower head is removed from a shower arm and replaced with a flexible conduit that supplies water under pressure to sundry nozzles including one beneath an opening in a seat for a user; this nozzle is oriented to direct a spray at the user's rectal area and toward the genital area. In this patent the seat has no accounterments to compel a woman to spread her genital area sufficiently to provide ready access to an opened vagina and the surrounding vulvar cleft in order to permit a spray to obtain maximum flushing.
In the second patent a seat likewise is provided with a rectal spray, the spray being attached to the bathtub spout rather than the shower head; the seat has no accounterments to compel placement of the user's legs in such a position as to open and expose the vagina and surrounding area.
Nether of these patents includes a single easily available control for regulating the rate of discharge for the spray, so that the user is forced to stretch out in order to reach the wall-mounted handles.